News & Updates

Majority of MSPs support a “well designed” deposit return system

April 11th, 2017

A Holyrood motion supporting the idea of a small refundable deposit on all drinks containers has been signed by 66 MSPs, including members from every party. The motion was lodged by Conservative MSP Maurice Corry and urges the Scottish Government to “make a prompt decision” on the matter.

It also states that there is now “substantially increased interest” in the issue and “a renewed campaign to reduce litter in Scotland”.

John Mayhew, APRS Director, said “It’sextremely rare for any motion to attract the support of an absolute majority of MSPs and see support from all five political parties, so we are delighted to see such widespread support for deposit return from across Parliament. As the motion says, a Scottish deposit return system must meet the needs of the public, small businesses and local authorities in particular, so we look forward to seeing detailed proposals to do just that. Members of Holyrood’s environment committee are continuing to gather information, and a final decision could be taken this year to banish the bottles and boost recycling across Scotland.”